During surgery it is important that an anesthetized patient's airway remain open. Normally, the anesthetist, a member of the surgical team, uses one hand to physically hold the patient's head in a position which will insure that the airway is maintained in an open condition. The airway is most easily kept in an open condition by tilting the patient's head backward by pulling the patient's chin up and away from the patient's body.
During long surgeries, reliance on this practice very often is fatiguing to the anesthetist, and it can severely restrict his or her ability to move about and attend to other matters. If the anesthetist is required to perform any function requiring the use of both hands, then another member of the surgical staff must temporarily hold the patient's head in order to maintain the airway.
While anesthetists sometimes use surgical tape extended around the patient's chin and secured to the operating table to hold the patient's head in the correct position, this method is unreliable and inadequate. Because the tape is attached to the table at a point lower than the chin, it is impossible to pull the chin up by this method. Furthermore, the tape can slip or detach from either the patient's chin or the operating table and can even tear the patient's skin. Also, surgical tape can irritate sensitive facial tissues of the patient.
So-called chin props, which comprise a ball on the end of an arm supported from the operating table, have also been used to maintain a patient's airway open during surgery. The ball engages under the patient's jaw and provides a force to tilt the patient's head. However, these devices, if misapplied, can constrict the airway somewhat by pressing the patient's tongue through the soft tissue under the jaw. Pressure applied directly to the point of the jaw at the patient's chin is much more effective for maintaining the airway open. Also, existing chin props are large and cumbersome, and they may get in the way of surgeons operating on the patient.
It is apparent, therefore, that a need exists for improved equipment and procedures for maintaining an anesthetized surgical patient's airway in a suitably open state. To be effective, the procedure should be simple and reliable, and the equipment should be easy to use, reliable, and non-irritating to a patient's skin. Once fitted to the patient's needs and circumstances, the equipment should free the anesthetist's hands for other tasks. Also, the equipment should be capable of being adjusted readily on the patient. The equipment, when engaged with a patient's head, should not interfere with the use of anaesthesia masks in the vicinity of a patient's mouth. Such equipment can reduce the need for use of endotracheal tubes.